Trying to separate Skotadi from Janaxia was complicated, and only managed by using Semari as bait – sending her towards Janaxia and Skotadi, who both veered to avoid her, Stathis moving her own steed into the gap that opened up between them. She steered Skotadi away from Janaxia, as she started to bicker with Semari.

Skotadi looked up her, the shadows beneath her parasol far thicker than they should be, making her hard to see despite the bright sunlight. Stathis smiled at her, trying, and failing, not to feel deeply awkward. Skotadi hissed at her, or at least made a sound that seemed very similar to a hiss.

‘So, good job last night. I saw you, uh, melt one of those attackers away.’

She licked her lips. ‘The essence was satisfying.’

‘Right, so you, uh, ate his soul? Is that what you did? And you mentioned something about your brother?’

Skotadi looked away, seeming… abashed? Her mood was hard to read, especially with thick shadows around her face. ‘Such things are not for you to worry about. But I shall attain mastery and power!’

‘So what does that actually mean? Are you in any position to rule or conquer anything? You’ve got some magical power, but Janaxia can’t be that good of a teacher at arcane stuff. She has her skills and strengths, but I wouldn’t have said that “teacher” is one of them. What are you hoping to learn from her?’

Skotadi seethed and hissed again, her clothing rippling without any actual motion – she seemed skilled enough at riding not to be having any troubles with it, although her horse was dark and unnaturally silent. Stathis considered reaching out to touch her, but decided against it, both on grounds of rudeness and in case it triggered some defence.

‘So, where are you actually from? I’ve not heard of anywhere ruled by, uh, someone like you. Well, other than Setha, but they’ve got their own stuff going on. So where are you from?’

‘Impertinent wretch!’

‘There’s no need to be rude. Look, we’re probably going to be travelling together for a while, and it’s easier we talk to each other. Otherwise I’ll leave you to Semari.’ They both turned to look, to see that Semari had jumped onto the back of Mavrosa and kicked her heels in, making the horse race off into empty scrubland, Janaxia unable to keep her under control. ‘She already dunked you in the ocean once. Which no-one else seems to remember. So, tell me what’s going on, or things are going to get awkward.’

Mavrosa was fast enough that Janaxia and Semari were already out of earshot, although Semari’s whoops could be heard.

Skotadi seethed and glared at Stathis, before Stathis grabbed her reins from her, keeping her close. The air seemed to be cooling now, as Skotadi seethed at her again. Stathis peered at the top of her head – were those bumpy horns pushing up the fabric, or just a coincidence of how the material draped?

‘You have no power over me, child of the broken sun.’ Skotadi’s voice was a burbling sibilant hiss, the shadows around her darkening.

‘Yeah, maybe don’t talk like that?’ Stathis raised her hand and called up a mote of sunlight into her hand. The area around them grew a little brighter, the light bright and warm – except for beneath Skotadi’s parasol, where the darkness only intensified in contrast. ‘You’re already more powerful than Janaxia knows, aren’t you? She only recently learned how to blip around, but I’ve seen you do it. And Hakara was protected from mental effects and couldn’t see you.’

She reached out and poked Skotadi on her forehead, feeling smooth and dry flesh beneath her finger. ‘OK, so I guess at least you’re not an illusion over a demon or something.’

Darkness flashed in Skotadi’s eyes as she tried to bat Stathis’ hands away, but her arm knocked against Stathis’ without effect, lacking the strength to move her away. ‘I shall destroy you!’ A burst of darkness appeared around her hand, Stathis leaning back on her horse as it shot upwards, dodging the attack.

‘Hey, easy there! I just want to know that you’re not a demon or something. What do you know about that demon that was nailed up in that cavern I apparently rescued you from?’

‘The keeper of the eighth seal, Acharrim Whiteflesh, bound beneath the earth.’ As soon as she had said it, Skotadi immediately clamped her mouth shut and tried to back away.

‘Care to explain how you know that? Because even the locals didn’t and they’d lived on top of it for years.’ Stathis pushed her hand forward, into the area of shadows, brushing aside hair to reveal an ear – un-pierced, and rounded at the top. ‘You’re not elven, and I don’t think you’re fully human. So what’s going on? What did you do, and what’s really going on?’

Skotadi twisted around with startling speed and bit her, teeth biting into Stathis’ wrist.

‘Oww!’

Skotadi growled, her mouth full, as Stathis tried to detach her without breaking any of Skotadi’s teeth, grabbing the top of her head.

‘Let go! You don’t need to bite me!’ There wasn’t anywhere she could grip to force Skotadi to let go without ripping her hair out, and the girl’s teeth were sharp enough to break her flesh. She instinctively healed herself, light flowing over her arm. As it reached the wounds, Skotadi recoiled away, her fangs coming out of Stathis’ arm. Her mouth looked slightly burned, skin reddened, as she moved her hand to cover her mouth, glaring at Stathis. ‘That was out of line!’

The darkness broiled around Skotadi, a chill filling the air.

‘Hey, calm down!’ A lance of solid shadows stabbed out from the parasol, Stathis just barely dodging it. ‘OK, I’m sorry, that was partially my fault. But you are pretty suspicious. Not that Janaxia is much better, what with killing me with a kiss!’

The thrust of shadow retreated, Skotadi now glaring at her again, but seeming slightly less hostile. ‘A kiss? Lady Janaxia Uth Tremari…’

‘You don’t have to call her all that, just “Janaxia” is fine, especially when she’s not listening.’

‘Lady Janaxia Uth Tremari’ she said the title with full and deliberate emphasis, ‘says that it was most pleasant, if it were not for the unfortunate ending.’

‘Well, except for me dying, then yes, it was quite nice. You’re a bit young to be worrying about things like that though. Uh, what’s she told you?’

Skotadi cackled, before catching herself and changing the sound she was making to a more refined noblewoman’s laugh, her mouth hidden behind her hand. ‘Oh, does the child of light beg secrets of the ancient darkness? Much has been whispered to me in the soft shadows of the night, much is known to me – wouldst thou make a trade with me?’ Her eyes gleamed, power surging around her.

‘Um, I don’t think it’s that big of a deal? Well, the kiss was nice, I mean, and it’d be good to not have Janaxia pissed off at me, but I don’t think it needs to made into a whole thing.’

‘She speaks of you.’

‘Are you going to tell me what she says?’

Skotadi snickered again, staring at Stathis as she drew herself up on her horse, now straight-backed and proud. ‘Oh? Beg and I may consider thine plea.’

‘I’m not begging, just interested.’ Stathis considered creating a ray of sunlight and seeing what they would do, but that seemed rather excessive escalation. ‘I’ll… buy you a drink? Have you tried beer before?’

‘Lady Janaxia Uth Tremari says that it for wastrels and commoners, not suitable for those of high estate.’

‘It’s cheaper than beer, yeah. Some of it is pretty rough, but there’s some nice flavours. You should give it a go, at least. Although avoid anything Vrintar offers you, she likes strong spirits. They’ll knock you on your ass.’

‘I am powerful beyond compare! No challenge is beyond me!’

Stathis poked her in the forehead again. ‘You’re only small, if you start drinking the hard stuff you’ll throw up or black out, or both. Save that for when you’re older and bigger. Anyway, I’m not here to talk about Janaxia. What are you actually wanting?’

Skotadi clamped her mouth shut and glared at Stathis, who reached into her pouch and pulled out a small glass vial, then unstoppered it and dabbed some onto her fingertip. ‘This is holy water. I wonder what effect it would have on you?’

She flicked her fingers, sending droplets through the air. Where they touched Skotadi’s aura of shadow, they vanished, the sparkling light blinking out instantly. Skotadi tried to pull away, but Stathis moved to stay close, wetting her finger again.

‘So where are you from, and what are you really doing? I know you’ve been doing some kind of enchantment-memory stuff.’ She flicked another droplet at Skotadi, this one tumbling through the air and striking her forehead. It hissed and bubbled for a moment, flashing into steam. ‘And what are you?’

‘Begone from me, wretched child of the light!’ The shadows flickered around her, forming into threatening shapes. Hoof-beats approached from behind, as Janaxia rode back, having managed to discard Semari somewhere, her clothing streaming dramatically behind her as Mavrosa moved at pace.

And quite what are you doing to Skotadi? Bullying my allies is, well… not entirely unexpected, but seems quite beneath you, I must say.

Janaxia moved Mavrosa closer, trying to push between Stathis and Skotadi.

I think I will begin her tutoring for the day now. Kindly leave us in peace. Her tone was sharp and peevish, not helped by the triumphantly smug look on Skotadi’s face.

‘OK, I’ll let you practice. Uh, what did you do with Semari?’

Janaxia twisted and pointed – Semari had been dumped quite some distance away, and was now charging back across the scrublands, reaching an impressive speed, looking a little battered, but none the worse for wear.

‘We should be reaching Per Lirit today, so if we could all try and stay un-noticed. There’s a small garrison there, but hopefully no-one that will recognise me. If anyone asks, we’re a bunch of adventurers passing through.’

Your web of lies thickens!

‘It’s not really a lie – we are adventurers and we are passing through. And it’s a lot easier than explaining the whole mess. Just don’t cause any chaos, please?’

Janaxia made an indignant sniffing sound, her pose being copied by Skotadi, still looking smug. ‘Oh, and I promised I’d let Skotadi try some beer.’ Janaxia wrinkled her nose in disgust, Skotadi looking surprised. ‘Don’t let Vrintar or Semari give her shots, or you can hold her hair back when she pukes it all up again.’

Hm. I suppose you mean well, but your input is not needed. Now, Skotadi, to our lessons.

She must have narrowed her broadcast, as her voice went silent in Stathis’ head, Skotadi drawing close. Stathis left them to it, riding up to the front, where Hakara and Kivata were riding. A small sphere of blue energy hovered above Hakara’s hand, Kivata’s fingers making slow movements through the air as she contributed her own magic.

‘Did you find anything out?’

‘It is a lot easier now that I can directly perceive Skotadi. Although I’m still unsure as to entirely what she is. Much like Janaxia and yourself, she appears to be somewhat more than mundanely human.’

‘Well, she’s not an elf, she’s not got the ears.’

Kivata spoke, looking as nervous as always. ‘If you could acquire some of her flesh, then I may be able to discern more of her.’

‘Thanks, but I’m not cutting any bits off. She definitely didn’t like holy water though.’

The sphere had a large inky blob at the centre, darkness shot through with red. As Janaxia incanted a spell, the darkness pulsed in time with her un-words.

‘Maybe I should ask Skotadi if she can understand them? If you get the chance, Hakara, could you see if Skotadi knows anything about magical theory? Don’t strain yourself though, you still looked knackered.’

‘Thank you, Stathis. It is possible she is of some sorcerous bloodline, although they are rarely so powerful. But I will do what I can – she is certainly mysterious. Kivata, you are more tutored in knowledge pertaining to such things, is there anything you know that might be helpful?’

Kivata looked pained as she scrabbled to try and find something to say, clearly not wanting to be a disappointment. ‘Um, there… there are demons that take mortal form, in order to tempt and deceive.’ When Hakara nodded in agreement, she gave a happy wriggle and smiled.

‘I think they’re normally a bit more overt about it though. And they probably don’t want to experiment with getting drunk? She seems quite self-absorbed, and probably more actively evil than Janaxia, for what that’s worth. I still think she’s pretty heavily demonic though. And she doesn’t like holy water, although that’s not really a surprise. I don’t think we’re going to be able to split them apart at all, which is a pain. Teleportation is quite a hard spell though, isn’t it? I’ve seen Skotadi do that, so I guess she’s quite powerful or skilled or whatever?’

‘Yes, performing self-transportation at any range beyond a few paces takes an impressive level of skill, it is not something that a novice practitioner can do. She doesn’t appear to have any form of spellbook either. That might mean she is empowered by her ancestry? Perhaps Miss Sen might know more? I believe she is of Sethan blood – they are ruled by those of, um, unusual ancestry, are they not?’

‘If by “unusual”, you mean “demonic”, then yes. I suspect Sen has a touch of it herself, what with the scales, although I guess not enough to have any magical powers of her own, she seems happy as Janaxia’s maid. The place has a nasty reputation though, lots of blood sacrifice and slavery and stuff. I don’t suppose either of you have talked to her?’ They both shook their heads. ‘She seems quite happy and willing to serve, and Janaxia at least doesn’t have the power to permanently enchant someone. But she might know some useful myths or legends, maybe?’

‘The few books of Sethan lore I have read covered quite extensive areas of demonology and binding souls. But required permission to read; given the content that is scarcely a surprise. Rather unpleasant even to touch, bound in human flesh.’

‘If you could keep an eye out for anything like that, just in case Janaxia or Skotadi do start doing anything creepy. Well, creepier than normal, you know what I mean. Do you think that Skotadi might be poisonous? She’s got the fangs for it.’

‘Venomous. Poison is only delivered when ingested, while Sen must inject from her fangs. Hmmm, I wonder if she can be milked?’ Hakara paused, then blushed deep red as she realised what she had said. ‘I mean, if her venom can be drawn out in advance?’

Stathis looked over – Sen was riding a respectful distance behind Janaxia and Skotadi, although was looking about herself with interest, taking in her surroundings. ‘Well, I’m not asking her that. But Skotadi has fangs as well, maybe they’ve got an ancestor in common or something? Some snakey demon great-grandmother? Or she’s like Janaxia, and she’s absorbed a demon or something, I still don’t know what happened to the thing on that island still, although I suspect Skotadi did something to it.’

‘She likely has something other than human ancestry, I think that is obvious. It is possible to draw power from demons, but it normally ends very badly, and messily. I am surprised that Janaxia has not had any side-effects, beside the horns. Normally people that attempt such things tend to, um, blow up. Or melt. Or both! The mortal body struggles to contain so much power, but they both appear stable. Although the way that Skotadi is wreathed in shadows does suggest that she has some form of permanent effect or enchantment happening. It would be helpful to study her further, but she appears unlikely to cooperate. If she has grown up on the streets, it’s not much of a surprise though, I hear the cities can be very… unpleasant to those without family or friends. That would probably make anyone rather prickly.’

‘Hmmm, I still think she’s pretty suspicious. I’ve no idea how she was doing the memory-wiping – that’s quite powerful, isn’t it? Well, other than with Janaxia, I think anyone could probably charm her, and I don’t think she would even notice. She’s tried it on me once or twice, but without any effect. If you can protect yourself against stuff like that, then you might want to do so. Just in case she tries something.’

‘She doesn’t seem particularly malign, but it definitely rather unnerving, yes.’

‘Actually, could you try and have a word with her about magical theory? She says she doesn’t need to know it, but I would be interested in knowing if she knows anything, I suspect she might be even worse than Janaxia, despite all her claims to ancient knowledge. And she needs to have contact with people other than Janaxia, before she ends up even weirder.’

‘I will try, Miss Stathis. Um, although I should also prepare for when we get back to your body, in case any extra spells are required. Or if there are any defences to penetrate.’

‘I’m hoping that won’t be too much of a problem. If everyone thinks I’m dead, then I can probably still get in though. And I’m hoping that I might be able to talk people out of attacking me.’